YCX: How Three Letters Impacted Culture, Engaged Leaders, and Drove Results

By Brent A. Grunig, Communications & Training Consultant, The Southeast Permanente Medical Group 

The Southeast Permanente Medical Group (TSPMG) named 2023 as the “Year of Care Experience”— or YCX. What started out as an idea for a year-long campaign ended up becoming an overwhelming success using a multi-faceted approach across teams and departments within TSPMG and our Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of Georgia (KPGA) partners. Building upon years of care experience work, the YCX was an investment of time and resources that included both small and easy-to-implement ideas, along with large-scale programs and initiatives.  

Impact Culture  

Establishing a refreshed definition of Care Experience set the foundation for our work. Our Care Experience Champions adopted The Beryl Institute’s definition and expanded it to: “The sum of all interactions, shaped by an organization’s culture, that influence perceptions across the continuum of care for employees, clinicians, and patients.”  

Through our monthly YCX newsletters—each centered on a specific care experience topic and spotlighting outstanding clinician contributions—along with the launch of our Care Experience Conversations podcast series and brief, engaging videos created by our Champions, we were able to “sprinkle” valuable insights and lessons across a broader audience. This approach allowed individuals to engage with the content at their own pace and on their own schedules. 
 
Numerous departments integrated care experience strategies into their regular meetings, incorporating practical tips, best practices, and peer recognition. Additionally, our Care Experience Champions presented to their peers at these meetings and engaged in individual coaching sessions focused on care experience.  

One of the most significant cultural impacts was our seamless transition from YCX to CX365. This shift reinforced the understanding that Care Experience is not a one-time initiative—it’s an all-day, every-day commitment. Whether we’re employees, clinicians, or patients, we all play a role in keeping care experience at the forefront of everything we do.

Drive Results 

TSPMG has been focused on our clinician communication scores for several years, seeing a steady increase in our company-wide average, in addition to tremendous strides in key departments. A year following YCX, we hit an all-time high of 90%, showing one of the biggest metric impacts from these combined efforts.  

A second key metric was around care coordination, particularly within primary care departments. During YCX, we saw a notable improvement in these scores. Following an earlier dip—believed to be related to changes in clinical workflow—renewed attention to care experience in targeted departments led to a 2.6% increase from March to August 2023, with scores remaining steady through the end of the year. By early 2025, these departments recorded a 5.2% increase compared to March 2023, reflecting the sustained impact of our care experience efforts. 

Finally, a third key metric showing positive movement was around member response to access—specifically, patients’ ability to get an appointment when they want it. In 2024, we had a 160% increase in the number of departments reaching our goal compared to 2023. Aligning our access initiatives with care experience efforts has proven to be a powerful strategy in driving meaningful improvement. 

Engage Leaders 

Chiefs and leads were trained on key care experience metrics – Clinician Communication and Care Coordination scores, Wait Times, and Real Time Feedback – including how to analyze and interpret data on a newly created Care Experience Dashboard. This data was used to craft department-specific care experience strategic plans to implement with support from their operations team partner.  

A three-part series of quarterly workshops was introduced for all leaders, focusing on care experience coaching, key metrics, and cross-functional collaboration. These sessions proved invaluable in aligning leadership around a shared language and clear priorities for care experience, fostering consistency and deeper engagement across the organization.  

Our leaders have become increasingly engaged in monitoring care experience data and are now more proactive in their support—often reaching out to clinicians directly or contacting the Care Experience Team for guidance. We’re also seeing a noticeable shift in how they approach their work, demonstrating stronger communication and a deeper, more consistent commitment to the care experience for both patients and team members. 

The Care Experience team can generate the ideas—whether it’s a team of one or many—but true impact requires support and engagement from executive leadership. Buy-in from department chiefs and leads is essential for successful implementation and for reinforcing messaging throughout the organization. Identifying clinicians as Care Experience Champions and consistently celebrating moments of care excellence across all roles helps build momentum and enthusiasm.  

Ultimately, culture change and measurable results in care experience can only be achieved through intentional collaboration and a unified, team-driven approach. 

About the Author 

Brent A. Grunig is a trained coach specializing in communication skills and care experience in healthcare. He is part of a collaborative team dedicated to positioning care experience as the foundation of healthcare delivery across the Metro Atlanta (GA) region.